Well, if you read the title of this post... you know exactly what it's about. My ski season is underway! And, once again I will be spending my winter on the Indy Pass.
I am writing this post on a Monday afternoon, I day-tripped it up to Waterville Valley to redeem one day off my Indy Pass for this season. Which to me is the best deal in skiing. They had 20+ trails open accessed by two lifts. The conditions made it even better! Cold, but not too cold. Hidden pow stashes to be found. Snowmaking whales to send it off and the classic patches of ice. They do call it the Ice Coast after all.
I mentioned they had 20+ trails open. Let me explain. Yes, they did have that many trails open. But in all reality it only created about 5 ways down from the summit. Open trails consisted of "upper" this and "lower that." It's a trick all ski resorts do to boost the amount of trails they have at their resort. Here me out, I am not saying this is bad. I just want you to be aware when it comes to early season skiing, especially here in New England in December.
For example, Saddleback in Rangeley Maine opened with nearly 100% on their opening day. But since then a few spells of warm and wet weather have rolled through New England and has drastically dropped their trail count.
Ok, back to Waterville. We redeemed our lift ticket at the window, a process that took no more than 5 minutes. They keep it somewhat old school too! With your lift ticket on the outside of your jacket! It is an RFID card, but it's nice to see some resorts keeping up with tradition.
Waterville Valley has always been one of my favorite places to ski. The trails are very unique and characteristics that make each run different. On this trip my trail of the day was Upper Bobby's Run to Tommy's World Cup. A great combination of trails for a run to cruise or carve the whole way down. Plus, Tommy's has a bit of a pitch to it and it skis much longer than it looks.
The snow will only get better from here on out. Yes, there will be the classic New England warm ups until we get into late January and February which is prime ski season here. Just remember to think snow, and thank a groomer and snowmaker if you happen to see them out on the hill!
Thanks for reading. See you on the slopes.
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